Retiree Healthcare

RETIREE HEALTHCARE AGREEMENT

In July 2009, the retiree healthcare agreement was established. The agreement lowers the age at which our members may retire with premium free health care coverage for themselves and eligible dependents from 60 years old now to 55 years old. Below arebullet points of the agreement that were agreed to by the Board of Directors, the Negotiating Team, Unit Reps and the City. The full agreement is posted at the bottom of this page.

The benefits set forth in section of 25.2 remained intact for those who are age 60 and above. The new process will not impact their choices, with the exception that anyone retiring after age 60 who wishes to have a staggered buyout of their non FLSA time can opt to; Officers who retire at age 55-59 obtain the same benefits identified in 25.2 when a required number of eligible officers file for retirement at a pre-determined time prior to retirement; All final compensations [Furlough Days, Baby Furlough Days, Personal Days, FLSA overtime] shall be paid out at time of retirement including up to $10,000 of non FLSA overtime [50 percent of all eligible retirees fall into this category]; On or before March 1st of the calendar year following retirement the retiree will receive $15,000 and one-third of any remaining overtime; On or before March 1st of the second calendar year following retirement the retiree will receive up to $20,000 and one-half of any remaining overtime; On or before March 1st of the third calendar year following retirement the retiree will receive any remaining compensation for accumulated overtime; These pay outs will be adjusted to reflect increases to be determined during the continuation of the collective bargaining process and will be applied retroactively.

The agreement allows premium free health care coverage for members and their dependents until they are Medicare eligible.

The complete agreement or Memorandum of Understanding can be found by clicking the link at the top of this page.

In addition to the Memorandum of Understanding, the City requested two additional agreements as a means of “selling” the memorandum to “their” people at City Hall. Those two documents consist of an Impact Statement that recognizes the negotiating history of the Retiree Healthcare Benefits, the Lodge’s goal and the considerable savings for the Employer. The second document acknowledges the establishment of a Joint Pension Legislation Council, which, when established, will mandate the City to discuss pension-related proposals with the Lodge, a process that has been difficult for the Lodge to accomplish when the Legislature requests to know the City’s position on those issues. These additional two agreements are included in their entirety at the bottom of this page.

Both of these agreements, along with the Memorandum of Understanding, show that the Lodge made no monetary concessions for the benefit contained therein. The benefits for the Lodge as well as the City came about as a result of steadfast negotiations along with a little timely assistance of a troubled economy.

ONLINE RETIREMENT PAR FORMS

The Department implemented the Online Retirement PAR form program that allows officers to retire electronically. This is the only way that officers can submit a retirement PAR form.

Officers need to log on to the CLEAR application page on the Department intranet site. There is one item on the actual site that is changed from the demo. The demo refers to the Personnel Division under Personnel Suite on page one. Personnel Division has been changed to Human Resources on the live site. Members need to click on the Human Resources link to proceed. Please follow the examples in this instructional demo to properly complete the form.

Members should read the Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the newly established premium-free healthcare agreement prior to completing and submitting the completed PAR form.